


Return of Vatonage

by x_Oath_x



Category: Pokemon, Pokemon Ranger
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, warning tags will be added as the story updates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2018-12-18 00:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11862837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/x_Oath_x/pseuds/x_Oath_x
Summary: Janilys Kendall is a new ranger-to-be on the scene known as the vast land of Almia. New sights! New people! And of course, new Pokemon for him to discover on his way to the top and beyond!However, Janilys and his friends will soon come to know that there's more to Almia, and themselves...





	1. Year One: Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Information and warnings can be found [here](http://x-oath-x.tumblr.com/VatonageMain).
> 
> this is what happens when you start making notes of your game play  
> and end up filling the journal to the brim with PLOT

“ _Alright class! Before we begin the lesson for the day, I want to welcome a student who will be joining us from now on.”_

 

Janilys really did try to keep his wits as he heard himself be introduced to his new classmates by his new teacher, but he found himself wringing his hands in anxiousness anyway. He had only had a couple days to settle down in Almia after traveling from Fiore on his own to pursue his dream: to become a Pokemon Ranger.

 

In those last couple of days, he had been blasted with test after test: verbal, physical, and the very common paper test. Each one had left him feeling unhinged and weary, even though he had been studying endlessly for each possible question and situation they would hit him with. Sure, he could've saved himself a lot of trouble and those two years of nonstop studying by applying for the Fiore Ranger School, but no. It had to be Almia – the birthplace of the Ranger. This place was the only school to help him to achieve his dream, he was sure of it. So he had sucked up his pout and put in as much work and effort as he could to get registered and apply.

 

Then, there was just this silence. No one mailed a letter to him, not one of acceptance nor of rejection.

 

'They have tons of letters to look through; yours will definitely be one of the ones they accept.' His parents had tried to tell him this on countless nights he spent anxiously pacing the neighborhood's streets or when he had fallen into a crying fit after the first day of school had went and gone. Two weeks later, like a miracle, his application and results had finally been looked through.

 

And he had made it. Janilys had barely scraped enough points on his tests to get the full scholarship to learn and train at the school. The only thing his family had to pay were travel fees, but honestly they were all just so happy that he had made it that it didn't matter anymore.

 

He was here.

 

_“Janilys? You can come in now.”_

 

There, that was his cue. He sucked in a deep breath through his teeth, making his body prick up as the cool air slammed his teeth. Unfurling his clenched hands, Janilys made his way through the wooden panel door to face his future.

 

* * *

The classroom, like everything he has seen so far with the school, was lined with a wooden panels on the walls and wooden flooring. The neutral brown coloring made it look rather plain, so the room was highly decorated with posters and diagrams as well as many potted plants in one corner. The room itself was lined across the back corners with cupboards that probably held books and supplies. In another was a bookcase that carried books with rather flashy covers. Situated in the center of the room were many wooden student desks with matching chairs. Janilys counted eleven desks in all, with the largest desk obviously being the teacher's in the front of the classroom in which the others were facing towards in a hemisphere circle. The desk was rather well managed with only some pens and papers on it.

 

There were about nine other students in the classroom and while quite a bit of them stood apart from one another physically, they had at least two things in common. One was the navy blue cotton uniform all students were to wear. It was a long-sleeved, and stocky leotard, but had the choice of having pants or shorts. Matching fingerless gloves were optional for those who wished to be Operators, but mandatory for Mechanics, Scientists, and Rangers. Dull blue ties could be seen hanging from their necks. Over the torso, were green long-sleeved crop jackets. For shoes, tall, tan combat boots were provided by the school. Since it was still early in the school year (and therefor late in the summer months), Janilys had opted for the shorts. It seems most of the other students had, too.

 

Another was their curious gazes as they watched Janilys walk from the back of the room up to the teacher's desk. The teacher herself, a rather short middle-aged woman with a sharp face, yet, constrastingly soft amber eyes, gestured for him to write his name on the board. The teacher’s name was Ms. April - he reminded himself of the name she had supplied him with when she had come to pick him up from his hotel.

 

She was still wearing the green blouse with no sleeves, knee-length white skirt, and plain low-heeled brown shoes from when she had picked him up earlier. Her auburn hair, instead of the ponytail he remembered from that morning, was now down and styled around her face. It reached a little past her shoulders.

 

He turned his back on the class to do as asked as she continued to introduce him. “Janilys has come a long way, all the way from Fiore, in fact. Now, since he's new to not only here, but to the region, I expect you all to be welcoming to him. Understand?”

 

Her last word seemed strained, as if she was pointing out certain students who she wanted to make her words clear to especially. Janilys wasn't sure who as his back was still turned, but he had a feeling he'd know before the day was over. Now finished with writing his first and last name, “Janilys Kendall”, he turned and faced his class with a slight bow.

 

When he straightened up, he made sure to say in his clearest voice, “My name is Janilys Kendall. I dream of becoming a Top Ranger one day. Please take care of me.”

 

The classroom was silent for a moment as Janilys allowed the words to sink in. A hand in the front row raised up. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Ms. April's lips turn slightly down.

“Yes Keith?”

 

Keith, a boy who Janilys had noticed had not stopped staring at him ever since he had entered, stood a little straighter when he was called on. As he put his hand down, he asked, “So... are you a girl or not? Because Ms. April keeps saying 'he' but you're so girly-looking. What's up with that?”

 

Following his question, some other students started snickering and whispering behind their hands. Janilys swallowed hard. He had noticed from when he had arrived that the people of Almia have often given him second-glances or thought of him as a girl unless told otherwise. Even Ms. April had blinked a couple of times when he point-blank told her that he defined himself as a boy when first meeting. He hadn't thought of his long bangs and ponytail being the source until Ms. April had pointed it out. Janilys supposed his longer hair was longer than expected for ten-year olds boys of Almia.

 

Clothing and hair styles in Summerland were much more free and flowing compared to the stiffer and thicker clothing that could be found in Almia. Janilys chalked it up to Almia having a far more varied climate whereas most of the weather in Fiore was sweltering if not mild. Due to that, Janilys was willing to get over the apologies, embarrassed smiles, and the occasional comment on his hair he would be given by adults who presumed his gender.

 

However, if Keith was the jokester Janilys was hoping he wasn't, then he'd be the type to run the joke a mile long and torment Janilys for as long as they were in such close proximity. Inwardly, Janilys wept for his favorite clothes still packed in his suitcase in the dorms upstairs for he might not be able to feel comfortable to wear them because of the stares and teasing he was sure he'd get for the duration of his school years. Four years is an awful long time.

 

“I'm a boy.” He did his best not to say it through clenched teeth, but he was sure some of his annoyance bled through his voice because suddenly Keith was grinning widely.

 

“You sure? 'Cause you sure seem to be a girl between the hair and the girls' uniform.” The snickering got louder while some students (including Ms. April) were now looking at Keith disapprovingly.

 

One girl in particular, a pretty girl with curly blond hair, a round face, and blue eyes that happened to sit right next to Keith's right side, kicked his shin underneath the desk. He yelped at the kick and Janilys heard Ms. April give a small 'tch' as if to show that she didn't approve of that action either. The girl didn't seem to notice either of reaction as she started to berate the boy. “You can wear shorts if it's hot enough. It has nothing to do with being a boy or girl!”

 

“Rhythmi is right, Keith. In the colder months, you will all be required to wear the pants leotard, but for now it's a choice.” She said rather sharply. “Now, enough with such rude comments _and actions_.” Her last words were obviously aimed at Rhythmi. The girl had the decency to look properly abashed that turned into a glare when Keith stuck his tongue at her. Ms. April huffed, but nonetheless said, “It's time to find Janilys a seat and properly introduce him to the school.”

 

She turned around to pick up a sheet of paper from her desk and read off of it. She looked up from it to look at Janilys with a small frown. “I would assume that after that mess, you wouldn't like to sit next to Keith, huh?”

 

Janilys was quick to nod his head 'no'. He heard some students snicker and look towards Keith who gave out an audible huff and muttered 'well, I never' under his breath. It had the desired effect as the laughter got louder afterwards. Ms. April spared her class a sharp glance which did more than needed to silence them. Janilys could only wonder what kind of power Ms. April truly held over her class to be able to do that.

 

“This time is as good as any, I suppose. Today's a free day for you since I've gotten behind in my scheduling. Be back at two in the afternoon to receive your new seating assignments, alright? Class dismissed.” With not even a second look, most of the students were eagerly getting out of their seats and heading out the door. Some stayed behind to pull out some sheets of paper while others merely sit and talk with one another. Janilys just stood there awkwardly looking around and unsure of what to do. While it had been explained to him briefly that 'free days' were a time for teachers to reschedule and students to wander the school and perform chores if needed, he wasn't really sure what to do at this point. He was brought out of his musings when Ms. April called out to him.

 

“Janilys? Can you come behind my desk with me please?” He nodded and followed her behind her desk and watched as she started pulling out several sheets of paper with writing on them. She began to look through them and then organize them into two piles with several papers and a couple packets in both. She picked up and handed one pile to Janilys to which he had to hold back the huff he was tempted to let out from its weight. Once she seemed sure that he had it under control, she started to leaf through the papers and point out what they were for.

 

“The top packet is your schedule. It only has two pages with one being your schedule and the other being a school map. We use weekly schedules which means you'll be doing a different class each day; the max amount of classes day is three including homeroom. You have the same homeroom teacher for your entire four years. I'm your homeroom teacher and the only teacher you have every day of the school week.” On seeing Janilys' nod in understanding, she then rubbed her right index finger along the edges of the papers after the schedule.

 

“These packets are note packets for this semester for all of your classes. They are in a particular style called guided notes. They contain most of the notes but there are blanks for terms and definitions. You'll have to be the one to decide when to pay attention so you can get them. There's also three extra pages for anything not in the notes. Like I said, it's up to you how much you pay attention and what you think is important, okay?”

 

She received another nod and gave a warm smile in return. “I realize this is a lot, but don't worry. It's only the middle of the second month and we're still on the Introductory to the World of Rangers and Pokemon Vocabulary packets. We'll be focusing primarily on basic terminology, Pokemon, and Pokemon types during Year One. You can ask a classmate for their notes today, copy them, and then bring that and your schedule tomorrow.” Ms. April got a thoughtful expression then. “Speaking of materials, you still have the school styler you've been using for your entrance exams, correct?”

 

“Yep!” He carefully pulled out the machine to show her while making sure the stack of papers were balanced on his other hand. The small green styler was rather simple looking. He hadn't thought much of it when he had first started using it after the school sent it to him. It surely wasn't as impressive as the ones he'd seen the Area Rangers use back home but it definitely let him capture Pokemon, that was for sure.

 

Her face brightened at seeing it. Obviously he had been taking good care of it since that was the first thing she had said upon seeing it. Ms. April then explained that the school styler is a simplified version of the stylers of an official Ranger – he'd get the official styler and learn the extra functions when he graduated and was assigned. Janilys perked up from hearing that; he was sure that there were stars in his eyes at the mention of truly becoming a Ranger. When seeing him nod once again, she started looking around the classroom until her eyes landed on the blonde girl from before. At the same time, he took the styler and put it back on the clip ring attached to his belt.

 

“Rhythmi!” Her head shot up at hearing her name. She seemed to have been reading from one of her own packets. She was quick to put away the packet in her desk and come to the front of the teacher's desk.

 

“Yes, Ms. April?”

 

“Can you show Janilys around? I don't want him to get lost when he tries to find his way around, even more so since the map can seem like a mess to someone who doesn't know how it works.” The girl's eye seemed to brighten and she gave a bright smile towards both Janilys and Ms. April.

 

“Of course! I'd love to show him around!” Janilys softly returned the smile. The girl seemed nice enough and had even defended him earlier. He hoped they could become friends; it'd be lonely to wander such a large, foreign school with no one to talk to besides the teachers. He barely heard Ms. April praise Rhythmi for stepping up and instead followed the girl's gesture to follow him outside the classroom.

 

Once outside the classroom, they turned to each other. The girl still had her smile as she stuck a hand out. “Hi! You were already told this, but my name's Rhythmi Bedella.” He balanced his stack to shake her hand as she continued. “I'm not here to be a Ranger, but rather an Operator. It's really nice to meet you, Janilys.”

 

He grinned back. “It's nice to meet you, too.”

 

The girl gave a soft giggle. “I've never met anyone from Fiore, but I had an uncle visit Ringtown and tell me all about it. It really must true that you all have an accent!”

 

Janilys looked startled by her forwardness, but then huffed through his nose good-naturedly. While Almia and Fiore as well as at least fifteen other nearby regions spoke the same basic language, there was no doubt there were some cultural differences. One of them being of course the lax and soft rolls of the tongues common in Fiore dialect compared to the sharp and punctuated consonants of Almia dialect. It was a pretty small difference, but it served to remind Janilys that he was virtually alone in this new region.

 

Just then, the pile in his hands started to wobble. Both of their expressions became startled as they both reached to stabilize the stack. Some papers spilled onto the ground despite Janilys' attempts to prevent it. Rhythmi, being the most able, got down on her knees to retrieve them. When done, she got back up and laughed softly. “Yeesh! At least we were able to put our packets in our desks when we first got them. You still don't have one.”

 

He shrugged and took a step. Rhythmi seemed to understand and began leading them both. “I was thinking of putting them in my dorm room until I needed them.”

 

His classmate got an exasperated look. “I'd advise not to. You have no idea how easy it is to get your things lost when you have a roommate.” Janilys stopped, eyes wide open as he stared at Rhythmi.

 

“Roommate...? We have roommates?”

 

“Yep! Mine's a girl named Camilla in the other Year 1 class. You get randomly selected one when you enter the school.”

 

“... Do you think I have that Keith guy as my roommate?” While he had initially been okay with the idea of having a roommate, he was now having second-thoughts. If he it did end up that he was paired with Keith... he didn't think he'd able to handle nonstop teasing from the jokester.

 

Rhythmi shrugged, but said, “I don't really know. Keith was bragging in the first week that he didn't have a roommate, so maybe. I mean, the roommates are mixed within the Years – you know the Year system, right? Okay. Mr. Kincaid has the rest of our year which is about three other students as well as all the Year 2 students. I know some of them don't have roommates still.” She laughed again, her friendly smile now sheepish. “This must be a lot for you take in, huh?”

 

When he nodded, her smile widened. “It's okay! I was pretty confused at first, but once you know what's what and where's where, everything else is easy. Let's take your stuff up to the first year dorms, find out your roommate, and then get started on the actual tour.”

 

At his nod, she grinned again and began walking faster towards a door that led to a separated room for stairs. As they passed the doorway, Janilys made sure to take a note of the shiny plaque nearby that read “Dorms” and had an arrow pointing towards the door.

 

Once both inside, Janilys couldn't help but to stare. The stairs only went up and looking upwards, the stairwells seemed to go on forever. They curved upwards with so many landings that Janilys doubted there was a ceiling. The room for the stairwell was rather small in terms of width, as the stairs and some boxes and chairs seemed to be the only things expected to be in the room. Just like the rest of the school, the walls, flooring, and stairs were wooden. Along the opposite side of the walls and up were large windows with windows that let in the sunlight from outside. Janilys was so busy marveling the room to notice Rhythmi was already past the first of stairs until she called out to him.

 

“Hey! Janilys!”

 

Startled from the sudden noise, he looked around and was surprised to see Rhythmi's face so high up. “Eh?”

 

Her bell-like laughter floated down from where she was to him. “Dorms start after the second floor!”

 

“... You're kidding me.”

 

“Wish I was~.” Her tone of voice was rather cheeky for such words.

 

Her laughter mingled with her footsteps. They were starting to turn haunting as she continued up the steps, already used to them. Still on the ground floor, Janilys could do nothing else but sigh and walk as quickly as possible to catch up.


	2. Year One: Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Janilys and Rhythmi run into Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Information and warnings can be found [here](http://x-oath-x.tumblr.com/VatonageMain).
> 
> why do college classes hurt

The dorms, as Rhythmi explained and his own mind surmised, were separated by the years. Each floor held two Years, and within those Years, they were then further separated into groups of two or three to one dorm room. That meant the third floor held the Year 1s and 2s and the fourth and top floor held the Year 3s and 4s. On the side opposite of the stairwell that led down to the classrooms and the like were the bathrooms. The room in-between was simply the “Common Room”.

It held many couches, tables, and chairs for hanging out or to do homework on. Normally, Rhythmi had told her, there would be quite a few students milling around in the room, but some of them are probably roaming the grounds and the other class involving their year was still in session. Classes within a year had the same basic schedule, she explained when he asked about the other Years.

There was a large and strange machine right next to the staircase that Rhythmi told him was the recharge station for stylers. While it was expected that students were to have their stylers on them at all times, it was incredibly dangerous to let one's styler energy get too low for it could explode and seriously harm the surrounding area and people or Pokemon in that area. Therefore, each night, the students are to put their stylers on recharge at the station and then pick them up the next morning.

“Supposedly, Operators can completely charge a styler in a couple minutes.” Rhythmi chattered while he followed her along side the dorm room doors, looking for his name. “We're supposed to learn that in Year 3! I can't wait.”

Janilys couldn't help but to smile at her enthusiasm and say, “I'm sure you'd be an awesome Operator.”

He gave a confused grunt when Rhythmi shook her head and looked at him right in the eyes. “Thanks, though, I don't want to just be an _awesome_ Operator – I want to be the best.”

She used her free hand to grab his own free hand and pull him to a nearby map of Almia. It was dotted with color – a testament to the varied landscape that could be found in Almia. She pointed at a rather big black dot that was labeled “Ranger Union”. Janilys' heart sped up when he read those words – the Ranger Union was essentially the ultimate headquarters for all Rangers. To be able to work there was a like a dream come true for anyone employed under them.

“I want to be a Top Operator – the best and most powerful within the Operator community in all of the regions.”

Her voice was a beacon from his thoughts. Janilys found himself staring at Rhythmi's determined face. Her blue eyes were focused solely on the dot. “It's true that Rangers do a lot of the field work – but the Operator is the one who assures them of what to do and gives them information for their missions.” She turned to meet Janilys' dark grey eyes with her bright blue ones. “I want to be able to help the people, Pokemon, _and_ Rangers all over the world. That's my dream.”

He was surprised by the sudden and riveting declaration of her dream. Janilys couldn't help but feel greatly inspired as well as touched that Rhythmi had shared it with him. A warm smile lit up his features as he said to her, with complete sincerity, “That's a wonderful dream, Rhythmi.”

“It'd be even more wonderful if she stopped talking about it all the time.”

Janilys couldn't stop the surprised squeak he let out from hearing the new voice from right behind him. He whirled around on his heel to see Keith right behind him, looking at the both of them with an impish countenance. Almost instantly Janilys' startled expression had turned into a small scowl. Beside him, Rhythmi gave an exasperated sigh, “I think you mean yourself when you say that.”

Keith snorted, feigning disbelief. “As if! Everyone here _knows_ how much you want to become an Operator. You're always shouting about it in the middle of the halls!”

“I think you're still talking about yourself here.” Rhythmi's deadpan tone and unamused expression had Janilys let out a small snort. It seemed as though the both of them had such conversations before. There was definitely a spark of familiarity between them; some of it might be because they were currently seated next to one another in Ms. April's class.

Keith's response was to stick his tongue out at the both of them which made Rhythmi roll her eyes. “How mature.”

At that, Keith puffed up his chest. “Of course! I have to be mature to be a Ranger.”

While Rhythmi muttered darkly under her breath, Janilys' ears perked at hearing that. He hadn't thought of what Keith was at the school for until now. To hear it had him a little surprised. “Ranger...?”

For the first time since the beginning of the conversation, Keith's crystal blue eyes finally landed directly on Janilys. The boy couldn't be helped be stunned by the color. While of the same color, they were definitely different from Rhythmi's own eye color. It was almost unnatural how they seemed to glow. He felt almost hypnotized by them when Keith spoke again, a little less boisterous than earlier. “I want to become a Top Ranger one day – the best of the best.”

“Really?” Janilys said near incredulous. If he was honest, he hadn't expected someone like Keith to have such a high-tiered dream. Perhaps there was more depth to Keith than he had initially presumed.

Then, Keith squinted his eyes really hard and was practically scrutinizing Janilys with his strange stare. Janilys was unsure of what to make of it when the boy suddenly got so close to his face that Janilys could actually spy a small side ponytail hanging from the side of Keith's face that was hidden well from his bangs. The color of the band that held it together was white and its structure reminded Janilys of his own dark red bands that held his side bangs in place. Janilys found himself flushing a little at the fact that he could actually tell. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rhythmi giving Keith an odd look. He didn't blame her.

“... Your name...” Janilys blinked. His name? What about it?

Keith backed away slowly, to which Janilys was happy for the breathing room. He closed his eyes to regain some mental peace before opening them to address Keith who had his right index finger and thumb to his chin while his left hand supported his right elbow in a pose filled with questions. Janilys wasn't sure he really wanted to ask, but did so anyway. “What about my name?”

In a swift movement, Keith's hands were stretched out flat while his shoulders were in a shrugging position. He looked almost bored as he said, “I forgot it. What's your name again?”

Janilys felt his left hand twitch. He could tell that the other was lying because Keith's lips were curved somewhat upwards. Forget what he had thought before; Keith just loved messing around and nothing more. “What do you mean you forgot my name? I just introduced myself like 20 minutes ago! It's Janilys!”

Keith continued to shrug nonchalantly and gave him an easy smile that hinted mischief. “20 minutes is such a long time. You can't expect me to remember after so much time has passed!”

Janilys resisted the urge to give out an irritated huff. Rhythmi crossed her arms, having put down the packets on a nearby table that was set next to a couch. “Well, I do! I find that so hard to believe that _you_ , out of all people would forget someone's name, Mr. Drowzee!”

Janilys blinked at what he guessed was a nickname, an odd one at that. Keith was less than impressed by it as evidenced by his slightly annoyed expression. “Really? That name?”

“It fits with your crazy memorization skills!” Pointing at Keith, Rhythmi turned to tell Janilys, “This lazy jerk can phrase dang near every identified Pokemon from #1 to #700 by heart, tell you their descriptive name, and always gets the highest scores when we have to recite something from memory – all of that by just looking at the notes once!”

Hearing all of that, Janilys couldn't help but feel a bit mystified. Keith could really do all that?

“What can I say?” Janilys turned to Keith who was walking leisurely over to the couch. He winked at Janilys and had a huge grin. “I'm practically a walking camera.”

At the comment, she bristled and yelled over shoulder, “Then stop copying my notes all the dang time!”

The laughter that came from Keith in response to the comment seemed a little nervous, Janilys noted. It seemed that Keith really depended on Rhythmi for notes. “But you take such great notes! How can I hope to compare?”

“How about payi-”

“You let him copy your notes?” Rhythmi's heated tirade was suddenly cut short when Janilys spoke up, having caught Keith's sentence. She turned to face him, annoyed at being cut off and was planning to tell Janilys off but nearly sputtered when her face met paper. Luckily for her, the boy was quick to retract the paper from his face. Now that it wasn't blocking her eyes, she could see he was holding up the introductory packets they were doing right now. When she turned her head a bit to see Janilys' sheepish face, she could see the motivated glint in his eyes as he explained himself. “Sorry! It's just that I need to copy the notes for the time I haven't been here before tomorrow.”

She blinked at him a bit before laughing softly. “It's okay! Of course I'll let you borrow my notes.” Then, her still smiling face became steely as she pointed to Keith who had flopped on the nearby couch. “Just don't make a habit of it like that lazy jerk over there.”

“Hey! I bought lunch for you every time I copied your notes, didn't I?” Keith glared at Rhythmi, looking affronted by her words.

Rhythmi was just as quick to retort with, “You got cheese stains on my grass-type crossword homework! You know Mr. Kincaid is a stickler for clean papers – and you were there when he threw my paper away and gave me a zero!”

Janilys inwarldly cried out in terror and shock – what kind of teacher threw their student’s papers away right in front of them?

At the mention of the name, Keith let out a loud groan of annoyance. “Ugh! What _isn't_ he a stickler for?! Mr. Kincaid is such a pain in the butt! Always making us do more than we actually need to! Did you know he gave me a low score on that introducing essay just because my paper wasn't in print?” Keith stuck his hands in the air and moved them as if he was strangling someone (Janilys suspected that this person was the mentioned Kincaid). “Who even cares if it's not printed?! 'Your handwriting is far too adult for a child' - isn't that a good thing?!”

He then pointed at Rhythmi, looking quite evil while doing so. “I'm telling ya – he's completely out to get me for what happened on the second day!”

Curiosity peaked about this scary-sounding teacher, Janilys couldn't help but ask, “What happened?”

This time, Rhythmi answered. She was once again jabbing her thumb at Keith over her shoulder. “That moron had taped balloons filled with streamers and confetti to the tops of Mr. Kincaid's classroom's fans. We were just leaving his class for lunch when he turned them on.” She held back a shudder. “Just remembering the face Mr. Kincaid had when it all the confetti was out is a nightmare and a half.”

Janilys had never seen Mr. Kincaid – but judging from both Rhythmi and Keith's accounts, he sounded like quite the foul-tempered man with a terrible personality. He had never had particularly rough teachers, but he's certainly met people who gave him enough frame of reference that he couldn't help but wince at the possible reaction his new teacher must've had. “How did they know it was you, Keith?”

Keith scowled. “I was bragging about it to Lucas who blabbed to Sheryl who blabbed to Ponte who blabbed to Isaac who told Mr. Kincaid. I pretty much got cornered by him when he got all the students who had heard me in the Lamont's office with us. I got stuck with detention and cleaning that guy's room – with _him in_ it! And he'd make it worse by kicking up the streamers and I swear he would pick up handfuls and throw it somewhere I already cleaned. It was _four_ hours before he let me go!”

As Keith went on with his rant, Janilys whispered to Rhythmi, “Who's Lamont?”  
  
“ _Principal_ Lamont. Keith's just being disrespectful.”

If he had heard them, Keith certainly didn't let them know. Instead settled himself back on the couch and was frowning deeply; he was certainly unhappy about thinking of what happened as he continued to vent, “Ever since then, we've been going at each other. Every time he gives me a low score, I prank him – when I prank him, he somehow finds out, busts me, and gives me detention. Since school started, I must've had a million detentions! All from him!”

Janilys couldn't help but snort at Keith's exaggerated antics. “Well, you're certainly not making it better if you're just causing trouble on purpose. How in the world have you not been kicked out?”

Instead of being offended like he thought, the brown haired boy gave him a sly grin and swooned. “Lamont absolutely adores me like I'm his own grandson.”

Janilys laughed softly at that.

“His naughty grandson.” Keith's grin became wicked at hearing Janilys' comment.

Rhythmi let out an audible sigh with a soft mutter about 'don't encourage him' while Janilys couldn't help but laugh again, much louder than the last time. The girl picked up the papers she had put down and hooked her arm around Janilys'. “C'mon. The sooner we find your dorm, the sooner we can leave the headache that is Keith Cyremei behind.”

Janilys chuckled bemusedly at his new friend's tone, but couldn't help but turn around slightly to wave goodbye to Keith out of courtesy. The boy saw it and waved, as well, a smile on his face. Turning back around, Janilys mirrored the smile; perhaps, if he was roomed with Keith, it might not be as bad as he had first thought.

“See ya later, what’s-your-face!”

Janilys’ smile dropped into a grimace. Or maybe it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  Follow [my blog](http://prinxe-puri.tumblr.com/) for random things. There you can ask questions, commission art from me, or you can buy me a coffee to keep the inspiration flowing and my internet on!


	3. Year One: Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Information and warnings can be found [here](http://x-oath-x.tumblr.com/VatonageMain).

Rhythmi and Janilys were now back on the ground floor. Turns out, Janilys' roommate was a person named 'Ponte Musle'. Janilys faintly remembered them as being one of the people that ratted out on Keith for his very first prank at the school. When he inquired more about them from Rhythmi, the girl had a pulled a really funny face and refused to comment.

As they walked through the hallways, Rhythmi would point out the rooms as they passed by. The ground floor had a central hallway that had branching halls that led to the classrooms, library, bathrooms, and teacher offices. It was very wide, and the school used the space for school-wide meetings and event.

There were four classrooms in all with Ms. April and Mr. Kincaid's in the front and Mr. Kaplan and Mrs. Claire's classrooms in the back. Ms. April taught theory, and Mr. Kincaid taught about Pokemon. Mr. Kaplan taught about captures and coordinated outside classes for Rangers and Mechanics, and Mrs. Claire taught target clears and coordinated outside classes for Operators and Scientists. There were two bathrooms on each side of the staircase.

In the far back to the left was the library and the back right was the staff room. Students were allowed to go in as long as they had a note or, in their case, were giving a tour. Between the library and staff room was the grand staircase that led up to the teacher dorms which took over the entire second floor (they weren't allowed to go up there unless they had a permission slip) and led down to the basement where extra supplies and furniture were stored. Mr. Kincaid's laboratory was down there as well.

“He's a part of some science group and asked the principal for the use of the basement. We're not, under any circumstance, allowed to go down there.” Rhythmi had said before grimacing, “I hate to agree with Keith, but he's right when he said Mr. Kincaid is very strict. Ever since he got here, he's put in all sorts of rules like 'no running in the hallways'. The other staff members don't care too much about it as long as you have a reason, but if _he_ catches you, you have to write thousands of lines or wash _all_ the dishes for the day. Trust me – it's not fun.”

Rhythmi's voice sounded distant as she said this and Janilys could see her rubbing her hands together in a soothing manner as if she could remember the phantom pains. Janilys winced at thinking the amount of pain her hands must've been in at the end of the punishment she had gotten. Still wincing, he nodded at her words and she looked a little better.

As they were about to pass by the library to head outside, Janilys couldn't help but beg that they go in for just a small moment. Spending most of the last two years studying and reading book after book had helped him develop a passionate love for books of all kinds. To just get a glimpse of the library's stock would elate him beyond measure.

Rhythmi was less enthused. “I guess. Honestly, only the Year Fours and some Year Threes go in there and that's mostly because Year Four and Three don't use guided notes. We'll stand out quite a bit and we _don't_ want that.”

He furrowed his eyebrows at her. “How... and why? I mean, we're all going to need something from the library at one point, anyway.”

In response, she grabbed his tie and held up her own for him to see. “We're separated by the color of our ties. Blue ties mean first year. Red and yellow are Year Two and Year Three. The Year 4s wear white.” She let go of both of their ties, faintly scowling. “It's a little stupid, but the older Years think us as stupid and noisy because we're younger. They don't bully us too much, but the library is student-run by the older Years. They'll kick us out the minute we look like were causing trouble or do something they don't like.”

She gained a small frown on her face when all he did was shrug at the warnings, but said nothing more as Janilys went to open the doors.

Inside, Janilys could feel the bubbling excitement and wonder build up inside of him as he stared up at the tall bookshelves lined up in neat rows. There was even a second floor where he could spy more rows of bookshelves and several tables and couches to sit at. He bet there were plenty of reading nooks to curl up at. Compared to the rest of the building, the carpet flooring were a beautiful dark purple with pale green wallpaper on the walls. Tall windows with dark blue were lined up against one wall and were open, letting the breeze from the nearby ocean and outside fields bring forth a calm and serene atmosphere.

Janilys would have loved to appreciate the interior design of the library, but quite frankly, he was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that there were _so. Many_. _BOOKS_.

Without meaning too, he let out a rather loud and excitable shriek that pierced the comfortable silence that was once prevalent throughout the library. Immediately after, he could feel his cheeks stain pink and his eyes grow wide as students from close by turn towards him.

“Hush!”

“Yeah, keep it down! Mr. Kincaid assigned me a stupid ten page essay that's due two days from now!”

“Shut up! _You're_ louder than them!”

“Who let the First Years in?”

Janilys felt his cheeks burn from embarrassment. He hadn't meant to cause a disturbance – and surely not _that_ loud! The calm atmosphere was broken and was now filled with anxiety and irritation so palpable that Janilys could taste it in the air as more and more of the older students started to complain and glare at them for disturbing the peace.

“Hey!” Both Rhythmi and Janilys turned as one to the front desk that sat horizontal to the door. Two taller students, a boy and a girl, wearing the student uniform with white ties and annoyed scowls on their faces were beckoning them closer. Shyly, they approached the desk. The one who had called out to them, a dark-skinned girl with hazel eyes and curly black hair that reached her back pointed at them. In a hushed, but clearly agitated voice, she all but demanded, “Who told you to come in here? First Year classes are still in session.”

Beside her, the boy, a red-haired young man with wavy locks, light blue eyes, and freckles splattered all over his face and visible skin, crossed his arms. His light blues were scrutinizing him as if he was dissatisfied with their entire existence. The younger boy felt himself shrink from the glare.

Rhythmi spoke for the both of them. Janilys felt amazed that she managed to sound so clear despite her hands trembling at her sides. “Ms. April let us out to have a Free Day. I'm showing our new student around.” At this, she gestured to Janilys. At the gesture both of the Year Fours' eyes went to Janilys.

The boy sniffed, glare less oppressing and more curious now. “He sure does look new.”

The girl rolled her eyes and scoffed at him. “They all look new, Kevin,” Her narrowed eyes came back to staring at the both of them, irritation clear in them. “I don't care if you're giving him a tour or not – this time is specifically for Year Threes and Fours. We don't need noisy Year Ones causing a fuss. Unlike you, **we** actually have important work to do – so get the heck out and don't come back until after lunch.”

She waved at them dismissively as if that was the end of the matter. The boy, Kevin, seemed a little disgruntled at her dismissive attitude, but more or less gestured to the door with a nod of his head.

Janilys didn't pull away when Rhythmi pulled him out of the library by his arm, whispering apologies and pardons as she did so. Rather instead, he tried his best to ignore the burning heat in his cheeks as they finally passed through the heavy wooden doors. The humiliation of the entire conversation was catching up on him; he felt like he could simply _die_ from it.

Once they were passed the doors, she turned and gave Janilys a glum look. Her cheeks were just as red as his. “Told you.”

He didn't say anything back. He wasn't sure if he should since it was _his_ fault that they were kicked out. Tears pricked the corner of his eyes as the memory, still fresh and just as humiliating as it was when he was still experiencing it, replayed in his mind. _How embarrassing!_

Students were going to talk for days about this until some other student messed up enough that the others will turn their mocking attention to them instead. Was it wrong to wish that it could happen sooner rather than later?

He could hardly hear Rhythmi's voice or feel her attempts to pull him away from the hallway. However, he certainly heard those heavy doors creak open and shut and footsteps hurriedly coming closer to them.

“Hey, wait a moment!”

Rhythmi stopped and turned around to face the newcomer, and nearly caused Janilys to trip as he turned, as well. They were both a little surprised to see two Year One students walking quickly after them from the direction of the library. One was a rather lanky young man with bright blond hair pulled into a bowl cut and dark blue eyes. Everything about him screamed a demure and polite aura, from his properly tucked in shirt to his neutral expression. The other had springy green hair that bounced with every step and purple eyes; his figure had more weight to it compared to his fellow students. One could plainly see the slight strain on his face as he briskly walked by the other's side.

Rhythmi and Janilys stopped and waited for them to catch up to see what they wanted. They didn't seem scary or threatening like the older kids. When they caught up with them, they were greeted with amused smiles with the smallest hints of pity. If it wasn't for those hints, Janilys would've thought they were mocking him and Rhythmi.

The blond one spoke first. “I seen you've met Mira. She's the class president for her Year and she's _really_ tough on those who get on her bad side.”

The other boy sniggered at the blond kid's words, causing the attention to focus on him. “You act like that's hard – all you need to do is sneeze near her and she'll get mad.” He suddenly started laughing a little louder. “You should've seen her reaction to Dorian and Keith's paper plane war during our study hall on the first day. We all thought she would pop a vessel from how red her face had gotten – she was so mad! The library was a complete mess afterwards and she got them both two weeks detention with Mr. Kincaid for it.”

Rhythmi's nose scrunched up as if she had smelt something horrid. Janilys inwardly smiled at his friend's reaction; it was almost like Keith's very name was a palpable odor that Rhythmi just could not stand from the way she acted. “Oh, for goodness sake – I just _knew_ Keith had something to do with that! Him, Dorian, and Felicity are a mix for trouble and everyone knows it.”

The blond boy smiled good-naturedly while the green-haired boy laughed heartily at her words before saying. “True that! That's why they all got separated into different classes on the _third day_ of school. _Mr. Kincaid_ would've popped a vessel after the second week if they were all still in his homeroom.”

The four students laughed freely at the comment, the previous tension rolling off and out of their bodies. The laughter took a while to die down, but when it did, Janilys extended a hand to both boys with a bright smile. “Name's Janilys Kendall.”

The green-haired boy's brightened with realization as he moved to shake Janilys' hand. “Oh so _you're_ Janilys? That means we're roommates – I'm Ponte Musle.” His expression grew sheepish. “Though, everyone calls me 'Conflicted Marshmallow'.”

Janilys blinked. “Conflicted what?”

Ponte shrugged, his embarrassed smile still present. “The last part comes from my hair; it's springy and all that. The other, well... I keep changing career tracks. It's just that I'm not entirely sure which one I want to do with my life. Currently, I'm in the Mechanic track, but after the fiasco from last week's outdoor class, I've been thinking I might go for the Operator track...”

As he trailed off, Ponte's expression was one of actual contemplation about changing his choice of track, Rhythmi pulled the same face from earlier when Janilys had inquired about the boy from her. Janilys took a while to discern whether he truly wanted to know more before deciding to inquire later. Instead, he turned to the other boy who had been chuckling softly at Ponte's words. “And you are?”

The boy straightened up and eagerly took Janilys' hand with his own and gave it a firm shake. “Isaac Telenewt. I'm aiming to be a scientist.”

Rhythmi's expression became one of awe at the mention of Isaac's name. “Oh! You're that really smart boy from Mr. Kincaid's class who has been doing independent study in the library, right?”

Isaac's cheeks flared a bright pink. “Did it really spread across the school that fast? It's only been happening for the past week.”

Ponte clapped a hand on his friend's back, smiling widely at him. “It was probably Sheryl. Y'know how she likes to gossip.”

“Another First Year?” Janilys asked with a quirked eyebrow. Even though a month and a half of school has passed, it seemed like everyone already knew each other really well. It made him wonder how he’d eventually fit in with the rest of his yearmates.

Rhythmi nodded, “She’s nice and all, but very nosy and doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut. If you want to keep something to yourself, keep away from her and Abigail.”

She looked like she wanted to say more when suddenly a loud ‘ding-dong’ sounded through the school’s halls. All four of the students looked upwards, three with knowing looks and one with only a guess.

“Was that a bell?” Janilys asked Rhythmi and received a nod.

“It means that Year 1 classes are over for now so we can have lunch and a small break. We’re allowed to head to the cafeteria or Vientown for lunch and hang out on the campus until the bell goes off again.” She explained.

Isaac nodded in confirmation. “If there’s a teacher you want to speak to, now would be the time. There’s three minutes of transition before the Year 1 students are replaced by Year 3 and 4.”

“Yeah...” Ponte turned to Janilys with a worn expression. “If you haven’t met Mr. Kincaid yet, now’s a good time. It’s better to see what he’s like out of class and get the shock out of the way rather then to make a huge mistake in class and get in trouble.”

Isaac winced at his friend’s words. “It’s not so much that Mr. Kincaid is dreadful-”

“- Except he is.” Ponte deadpanned.

Giving his friend a look, Isaac continued, “As I was saying, Mr. Kincaid isn’t all that bad. Sure, he can be really strict, but he is also really effective when teaching. Not only that, but he’s the one who convinced the other teachers and Principal Lamont to let me do independent study under his supervision.”

To that, Rhythmi let out a whistle. “If I haven’t said it before, I’ll say it now: Congratulations.”

Janilys nodded, a smile on his face. “Yeah, congrats! And I’ll take you guys’ advice and see Mr. Kincaid now.”

Isaac’s face had become red again with the praise he was getting, but he was able to say with a big smile, “Thank you both. Ponte and I are heading to Vientown for lunch, so I guess we'll see you later. It was really nice meeting you Janilys, Rhythmi.”

Ponte nodded, a wide grin on his face, too. “Yep! See you guys later!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates every first and third Sunday.  
> Next update: February 4th


	4. Year One: Part Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Information and warnings can be found [here](http://x-oath-x.tumblr.com/VatonageMain).
> 
> \- this chapter is unfortunately short due a huge celebration on my college campus pushing college classes and assignments up a week

Janilys found himself thanking Ponte, Isaac, Rhythmi, and even Keith for attempting to give him an idea of Mr. Kincaid's temperament and attitude.

The man himself was a fairly tall one who wore a dark red vest over a white dress shirt and gray pants. His most noticeable feature was definitely his blond hair. Not only was it combed into a stylized swirl that hung over his head, but there was a distinct smell of hairspray that clung to the man as well as areas he lingered. It was probably the first thing Janilys had noticed when he entered the classroom for the first time.

Unfortunately, their warnings still didn’t prepare him from the disapproving lecture that was still spilling from Mr. Kincaid’s mouth even after the bell had rung again and the Year 3 students had started coming in.

“Running through the halls and an unkept uniform? I would think you would know better, Miss Bedella. And it would seem that you are off to a poor start, Mr. Kendall.” The man’s scowl deepened, making his slightly aged face appear intimidating. “Unless you can provide a satisfying reason as to why, I don’t see either of you walking out without a detention slip.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rhythmi grasp her hand gingerly and Janilys felt a stirring of anger towards his new teacher. Suddenly feeling brave, Janilys defended them with, “We were just rushing around since there’s so much to see before we went back to Ms. April.”

“Hmp,” Mr. Kincaid narrowed his eyes, but Janilys refused to back down. He met Mr. Kincaid's glare head on.

The confrontation felt like it had lasted for an hour before Mr. Kincaid finally scowled and said, “Since it is your first day, I will let it slide. But next time I won’t be as lenient. Now, exit my classroom; I have a class to teach!”

Still glaring, Janilys took hold of a shell shocked Rhythmi’s hand and proceeded to leave the room. He ignored the stares of the Year 3s that followed him and his friend out of the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates every first and third Sunday.  
> Next update: April 1st


End file.
